Indiana Hoosiers fans will always remember the 2024 football season, Curt Cignetti’s first as the head coach in Bloomington. IU went 11-1 and made the College Football Playoff, falling to Notre Dame in the quarterfinals in South Bend. On Saturday afternoon, it was officially time to turn the page and begin the quest to build another special season as #20 Indiana hosted the Old Dominion Monarchs.
After a blown read on the first play from the scrimmage gave ODU’s Colton Joseph a crease that he hit for a 75-yard touchdown and some offensive execution issues in the red zone, the Hoosiers settled down and cruised to a comfortable, albeit not dominant, 27-14 victory to move to 1-0 on the season. Indiana’s passing game was not quite clicking but offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan was able to lean on his rushing attack, churning out 309 yards on the ground and averaging 5.4 yards per carry. Indiana’s defense was outstanding after the miscue on the first play and the final ODU drive, limiting Old Dominion to just 314 yards and only 96 yards through the air.
Old Dominion began the game with a bang as quarterback Colton Joseph showed off the speed that helped him lead the Sun Belt in total yards in 2024. He fooled IU’s defense keeping the ball on a zone read play and scampered 75 yards untouched to open the scoring. Indiana’s offense responded with a very nice extended drive but the Hoosiers were stuffed on multiple runs inside the five-yard line and turned the ball over on downs. Old Dominion was forced to punt and IU was driving again but Lee Beebe fumbled on his first touch as a Hoosier and Indiana still trailed 7-0.
There was a smattering of boos around Memorial Stadium but the defense forced another Monarchs’ punt and Jonathan Brady changed the game. The punt bounced as Brady waited at the nine-yard line, snagged it off the bounce and bolted around the edge for a 91-yard punt return to tie the game. The big play seemed to lift a malaise from the team and Indiana really never looked back from there. On the next ODU possession, safety Amare Ferrell intercepted a misfired pass from Colton Joseph and the Hoosiers again drove inside the five-yard line. Yet again, the offense was stymied and this time, they settled for a Nico Radicic 22-yard field goal to go ahead 10-7. Old Dominion had to punt again and Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza delivered a perfect would-be touchdown to Omar Cooper but the receiver dropped it at the goal line and IU was empty-handed again but the defense was able to get the ball back as Louis Moore intercepted a tipped pass and returned it inside the ODU ten-yard line. Mendoza took matters into his own hands, scrambling in for a five-yard touchdown to make it 17-7 before the end of the first half.
IU had the ball to begin the second half and continued dominating on the ground, hammering out a nice drive that mixed the run with a long pass to Omar Cooper. Kaelon Black finished the drive with a short touchdown run to give IU the 24-7 advantage and the defense continued to lock down ODU’s offense. The Hoosiers were unable to land a knockout punch though, failing to execute in the red zone time and time again. Nico Radicic added another field goal to give IU a 27-7 lead but the defense fell asleep and allowed another long touchdown run by quarterback Colton Joseph. Despite dominating the proceedings for much of the afternoon, IU was only ahead 27-14 with the offense heading back onto the field with half of the fourth quarter remaining. Fernando Mendoza completed a few passes but he was mainly just handing the ball over as the Hoosiers drained the clock and picked up first downs on the ground, keeping the ball for the remainder of the game and closing with the 27-14 victory to move to 1-0.
Indiana was led by the ground game with strong performances from all three running backs. Roman Hemby had 111 yards yards, Kaelon Black was next with 92 yards and Lee Beebe ground out 73 yards. The execution in the passing game left plenty to be desired and IU’s defense gave up the two long touchdown runs by Colton Joseph. There is plenty for the Hoosiers to fix before battling Kennesaw State next Saturday at noon.
Hoosier Huddle will have full coverage of IU’s 1-0 start.